Rocky Peak Ridge

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Rocky Peak Ridge
Rocky Ridge Peak.JPG
Rocky Peak seen from Giant Mountain
Highest point
Elevation 4,420 ft (1,350 m)  NGVD 29 [1]
Listing Adirondack High Peaks 20th [2]
Coordinates 44°09′16″N73°42′20″W / 44.15444°N 73.70556°W / 44.15444; -73.70556 [3]
Geography
New York Adirondack.svg
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Rocky Peak Ridge
Location of Rocky Peak Ridge within New York
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Rocky Peak Ridge
Rocky Peak Ridge (the United States)
Location Keene, New York, U.S.
Parent range Adirondacks
Topo map USGS Elizabethtown
Climbing
First ascent 1878, by Fred J. Patterson and Sam Dunning [4]
Easiest route Hike

Rocky Peak Ridge is the twentieth highest peak in the High Peaks Region of the Adirondack Park of New York, United States. The name of the mountain is due to its geology, a rocky ridge to the east of the better known Giant Mountain. The long, bare ridge is unusual in the Adirondacks; it resulted from the last great forest fire in the region, in 1913. [5]

Ascents
There are two trails leading to the top of the peak. One trail, leaving from the town of New Russia, is about a ten-mile round trip with a few, steep rock scrambles along the way. The more commonly used trail splits from the Giant Mountain Trail at about 0.1 mile below Giant's summit. The trail descends steeply from Giant for 0.4 mile and then goes gently uphill for 0.8 mile.

Views
Rocky Peak Ridge provides unobstructed 360-degree views from the highpoint and many lookouts along the ridgeline. The views of Giant Mountain, the Great Range, Dix Mountain Wilderness, Lake Champlain and Vermont are spectacular and well worth the 1.2 mile hike from just below the summit of Giant.

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References

  1. Goodwin, Tony, ed. (2021). Adirondack trails. High peaks region (15th ed.). Adirondack Mountain Club. pp. 286–287. ISBN   9780998637181.
  2. "The Peaks – Adirondack 46ers". adk46er.org. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  3. "Rocky Peak Ridge". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior . Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  4. Carson, Russell M. L. (1927). Peaks and People of the Adirondacks. Garden City: Doubleday. pp. 202–204. ISBN   9781404751200.
  5. Goodwin, Tony, ed., Adirondack Trails, High Peaks Region, Lake George, New York: Adirondack Mountain Club, 2004. ISBN   1-931951-05-5